Peace at Last
by FireJade
Summary: The night after Luke and Mara's formal wedding in Union, the two Jedi seek refuge from their guests. They are amazed by their new understanding of one another... and of the galaxy as a whole. EU fic.


Authors's note:

Finally posting my first fic. :D It is a songfic, by the way, and even though I'm working on a different fanfic, this one just couldn't wait - the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone! It's based on "If I Never Knew You," written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz and performed by Jon Secada and Shanice in Pocahontas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Star Wars or of the song "If I Never Knew You." Unfortunately.

Context: The night after Luke and Mara's formal wedding in Union, the two Jedi seek refuge from their guests. They are amazed by their new understanding of one another... and of the galaxy as a whole.

R&R - this is my first fic, and I'd love to know how I can improve! Enjoy!

--------------------

**Peace at Last  
**(songfic based on "If I Never Knew You")  
By FireJade (July 2006)

On the highest floors of the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, the wind was a calm breeze the night of Luke and Mara's wedding. The celebration had lasted quite late, with both members of the New Republic and of the Empire wishing the bride and groom the best of luck.

Now, the two Jedi had succeeded in escaping the attentions of their guests and had retreated to the peace and quiet of their quarters. Serenely, pale, reflected light from Coruscant's moons passed among the towering skyscrapers that littered the planet's surface. In the cloudless night, amidst the soothing breeze, the balcony outside the room beckoned to the newlyweds.

"Too much time inside, among too many admirers," Mara commented to Luke as they stood gazing at the still night outside. One effect of the extra security placed on the area was the lack of speeders traversing Coruscant's airlanes this special night.

Mara and Luke smiled at each other. Their peace would not be disturbed.

"Up until now, I've been wondering if what we're doing is right," Luke said softly.

Mara, temporarily lost in a trance among the numerous stars twinkling above, turned a questioning gaze towards to him. "You mean our marriage?"

"Yes," Luke said thoughtfully. "Our love. I'd like to think that we're not breaking any of the Jedi tenets, but…"

The Jedi Master sighed. "This is definitely attachment."

Mara raised her hand to stroke her husband's face. "Why now? Don't you realize how much we are gaining through our love?"

Luke smiled, taking Mara's hands in his. "I know," he whispered. "I've learned a lot from our love, and not just about ourselves."

"_If I never knew you_," he began to sing softly, "_if I never felt this love, I would have no inkling of how precious life can be_." Before, Luke had known that those he saved might have families that cared about them, spouses that prayed their loved ones would arrive home safely, but only now did he understand the astounding value of the bond between husband and wife.

He pulled Mara into an embrace. "_And if I never held you, I would never have a clue how at last I'd find in you the missing part of me_."

Mara gazed up at the passionate blue eyes looking back at her, tears of emotion welling up in her own eyes as Luke's emotional openness and wonder washed over her like a refreshing ocean wave.

"_In this world so full of fear, full of rage and lies, I can see the truth so clear in your eyes, so dry your eyes_," he continued, raising a hand to gently brush away her tears.

"_And I'm so grateful to you – I'd have lived my whole life through_," he sang lovingly, "_lost forever, if I never knew you_."

Somewhere inside Mara, there was a burst of emotion, and she could contain her own ecstasy no longer. Quiet joy had lain humming within her since he had proposed to her, but only now did she feel the peace in the incredible one-ness she felt with Luke as he held her in his strong arms. "_If I never knew you, I'd be safe but half as real, never knowing I could feel a love so strong and true_.

"_I'm so grateful to you – I'd have lived my whole life through, lost forever, if I never knew you_," she sang, jade-green eyes shining. There had been doubt before, but there was none now.

"_I thought our love would be so beautiful_," Luke sang, hugging her tighter against him.

"_Somehow we'd make the whole world bright_," Mara replied. Even if love had been forbidden in the old Jedi Order, her bond with Luke felt so right, filled with the swirling Force energy of the Light Side. Together, they had triumphed against all odds, and together, they would continue to defeat any evils that rose against them!

"_I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong_," they sang in unison. "_All they'd leave us were these whispers in the night – but still my heart is singing we were right!_"

"_If I never knew you –_" Mara began. It was unthinkable now to deny their love for one another!

"– _There's no moment I regret –_"

"– _if I never knew this love –_"

"– _since the moment that we met –_"

"– _I would have no inkling of –_"

"– _If our time has gone too fast –_"

"– _how precious life can be…_"

"– _I've lived at last…_"

Caught up in the breathless magic of the moment, the two lovers could only stare at each other in wonder, each wondering how the other had brought such a feeling of completion to his or her own being!

"_I thought our love would be so beautiful_," they sang together.

"_So beautiful!_" Mara breathed.

"_Somehow we'd make the whole world bright_," they continued.

"_I thought our love would be so beautiful_," Mara exclaimed, immersed in love and the Light Side of the Force as she was. "_We'd turn the darkness into light_." Even though others had wanted to destroy their happiness, bursting in on their wedding and armed with threats, the two of them had witnessed the intruders' change of heart as Luke accepted them and their grudges. That acceptance and welcome had been enough to change their outlook on the galaxy and on their own lives.

"_And still my heart is singing we were right_," they sang. With the rising feeling of joy that accompanied their song, they knew their marriage could not have been anything but right!

"_We were right!_" Luke cried. "_And if I never knew you…_"

"_If I never knew you…_" Mara murmured.

"_I'd have lived my whole life through…_"

"_Empty as the sky…_"

Mara pulled away slightly, catching Luke's eyes and holding them with her own as the serenity of the night took hold on them, cooling their ardent passion. Together, they voiced their understanding of what would have been if they had never had the chance for such a joining of minds, the opportunity for such completion of their souls:

"_Never knowing why… Lost forever… if I never knew you_."


End file.
